Rightmove today revealed that it has had its busiest period ever, leaving other property portals trailing as it grabbed 83% of market share.
This morning, it published its Interim Management Statement for the period January 1 to April 30, showing a 5% increase in estate agents signing up so far this year. The company's shares have, in recent weeks, shot up to £7 from less than £5 at the start of the year and were up again this morning in early trading.
The statement also revealed March as the company’s busiest-ever month and April 6 marking the company’s busiest-ever day. The level of site traffic helped Rightmove’s market share among the top property websites increase to 83% for the first four months of the year, up from an average of 81% in 2009, according to Hitwise figures.
Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “Rightmove’s lead over the competition is bigger than ever. This is partly thanks to our spring TV advertising, as well as having our iPhone app featured in Apple’s own TV advertising. Home-hunters, landlords and sellers have responded to these campaigns by visiting the site in record numbers, giving Rightmove members a significant advantage in the current market.”
Average revenue per advertiser has been strong for Rightmove, thanks to adoption of additional products, with 55% of agents now taking at least one additional product.
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Comments
72p/share (9.72%) in 3 weeks means the advice wasn't wrong.
If nothing is a reasonable investment then yes I do happen to know someone prepared to do a top quality job for absolutely no reward other than the satisfaction of achievement.
Robert: "Peebee you are right about it not being a DIY job and when someone who knows what they are talking about offers their services I would have thought only sensible and polite to listen."
And you would just happen to know someone who could provide this 'solution', wouldn't you - and for a reasonable 'investment'... ;0)
How about Tool Peebee?
If it helps I am happy to admit I am a tool!
A forum isn't the right place for me to discuss the rights and wrongs of what has gone before at NFOPP but it is my opinion that additional charges for Propertylive aren't needed and any additional investment would be available by commercial negotiation. The very best solution IS staring me in the face but it isn't the one you are looking at.
Robert: "Almost none of the other portals have the potential of Propertylive."
That would be on the basis that Agents already use the others, yet PropertyLive is disregarded. The potential IS huge - but only when the prospective users believe in it.
(by the way - I HATE the word 'solutions'. Smarmy and overused to death. Find a new buzz-phrase to describe yourself...)
But, when you say "potential", again many other portals could fall into this bracket. There have already been suggestions that PL will charge £70 per office to use it. IF (BIG if) PL does develop rapidly and reaches it's "potential" then the charges will go up as well. Before you know it, you'll paying even more to use it! Granted, it is likely to be a little less than RM, but it will never be as good! We'll have to agree to disagree on this one! Why push and invest to progress something, when the very best solution is staring you in the face!
My VERY pro Propertylive comments are based on 24 years involvement and practical experience with technology solutions for Estate Agency and Property Management. My comments are not based on the cost but on having a clear insight how commercially valueable PropertyLive is. Almost none of the other portals have the potential of Propertylive.
Peebee you are right about it not being a DIY job and when someone who knows what they are talking about offers their services I would have thought only sensible and polite to listen.
Robert - my condition report was based upon an in-depth inspection of the building, and using both historic and present-day comparables. I have made allowances for acceptable tolerances, however like all buildings it will require major upkeep to ensure its' longevity. Note also that the building is currently underused. This factor gives understandable cause for concern, as if it cannot stand up to light usage it is hardly fit for purpose when higher usage will undoubtedly put excessive load on the already strained fabric.
In the USofA it would be called a 'fixer-upper', I believe - but not a DIY project, please, NFoPP...
Are all of you pro-Property Live comments based purely on the fact it is "currently" free? If not, all of your posts could apply to ANY portal other than Rightmove?!
The present condition is nowhere as bad as you are painting, yours is one of those traditional mortgage valuations where you have slowed down to 20 as you drove past just to make sure the place was still there and are relying on a survey you did two years ago for your opinion of value. No-wonder so many surveyors have court cases pending!
Stop your car, get out and have a good close look at Propertylive, Understand it's potential and then come back and tell me I am wrong. You can't blame the bulding if the owners don't look after it.
Robert May: It seems that I started something a couople of weeks ago by using folks' rationale - so let's continue: "Propertylive has the strongest foundations of any of the portals and it is the foudations that make for the strongest buildings." That is as well, Sir - but allow me to survey the building. Foundations appear solid, however later problems can occur due to factors unforseen at the time of inspection. Structural walls showing signs of significant cracking which could lead to failure if not attended to immediately. Roof covering is ineffective and leaks will occur, leading to further problems with the fabric of the building. No 'red lights' - but plenty of 'ambers' to point out to prospective occupants...
Over to you, Sir...
Using your anaolgy, given the choice I would rather let you turn up in your brand new leased 3 series bemmer and be content with my beat up 1954 Mercedes W 196!
Propertylive is an executor sale sitting in 10 acres of land, which will be granted residential zoning in the next development plan, sea views a stream and roses round the door and that strange rock in the garden is a Quartz vein!
Whichever way I look at this, the potential for Propertylive is really exciting. Propertylive has the strongest foundations of any of the portals and it is the foudations that make for the strongest buildings.
There have already been suggestions that each office will be charged £70 a month to promote Property Live in the future...Surely if the system develops and it delivers more results, this figure will increase further? Of course, this is a complete gamble, as it could well stay at the same performance level that it currently operates which would represent a poor return for your money. Stick with RM - Would you turn up to an appointment in a beat up old banger, to save a few quid, but still hope to receive that great 'first impression'? Nope. Splash the cash with Rightmove for the best online solution.
Locally to me everyone proudly displays their NAEA membership sticker in the window, most include the NAEA logo on their newspaper advertising. Why? being a member of the NAEA is a good thing. That is recognised by Agents and the public.
Modify the window sticker to make reference to Propertylive and you start the public awareness of PropertyLive. Ask agents to include the Propertylive Logo alongside the Rightmove, Primelocation and Findaproperty logo in their newspaper advertising and you start to reinforce PropertyLive. As soon as Propertylive is populated properly the applicants will come. Give Propertylive market advantage and a USP, then Propertylive will take off and you will have a portal that you own and does exactly what you need it to do.
The man in the street doesn't know what Property Live is. If he did, he would still conclude that Rightmove is a superior portal to use which operates far more smoothly. Both are free to the user, so who would you choose? You've answered your own question. Yes, Property Live is free, but agents would rather pay for something to achieve far greater results than use a free service. Besides, Property Live simply contains the same properties as RM, but far, far less volumes with no brand awareness. Rightmove is the number one portal available to the agent AND the public - thats why it works. Sadly, there is ongoing public perception that EAs don't deserve the high fees that they charge. Like Rightmove (and ANY other business), if you feel that your service is worth £XXX amount and that people will pay it, then you charge that amount.
Have I missed something in the past 8 months? I thought Agents do have their own portal.....PropertyLive.
Please tell me and in so doing tell NFOPP what is wrong with Propertylive, why aren't agents using it?
"Garry" why stop at setting up an agent owned portal?
Agent owned property management software
Agent owned ISP
Agent owned Telephone service
Take over the newspapers next
Why not just take over the country call it Agent land
How would you feel like it if you got an agent owned portal
And RightMove and other portals turned round and started dealing with vendors direct
Who do you think would have bigger market share.
The Agent has there place and the portal has a vital place in the chain.
And before any one from Radar Homes jumps in don’t
If Agents join to form a portal that results in current portals loosing listings they would have no choice other than to review there business model to include direct vendor listing and agents would be in no position to complain about the move.
How do you think your own business would be hit if RightMove started dealing direct with vendors in your area or even left the cyber world and hit the high street and opened a RightMove branch next door to you?
You have the right to setup a portal and compete with other portals but remember that the current portals have a right to compete for business just the same.
no one would deny that the majority of leads come from RM, i also like the way i can make properties stand out with floorplans ect, but the biggest problem agents have with RM is the managment, customer service is shocking, competitor analysis is ridiculas (and you cant opt out of it) and they have a take it or leave it attitude they put prices up. Now RM have agents over a barrel and they know it. They are a company set for domination which is fine but they seem to want to do it by bullying rather than working with us
This is getting very scary. I am not suggesting for one minute that RM is not a good product. But it is only a good product because we make it so. If we owned our own portal we could easily make that the best portal if we all advertised on it. We can have all the control and all the influence if there was only some way we could all get together. We seem pretty much like minded that RM is a necessary evil and although good none of us seem to like the fact we have no control and RMs pricing will get more and more expensive. My fear is they know all of our figures and could easily in the future start taking a percentage of our profits. This is what Ed Williams the MD of RM stated last year.
"Early next year we will look to increase our prices again, driven by the compelling benefits of the online proposition," he said. "Our pricing doesn't reflect the value we deliver."
Up to 75 percent of estate agent enquiries were generated by the site, he said, but it took only 20 percent of total industry advertising spend.
Every agent should be aware of this.
was the advice given to me, as a very young negotiator, by a very wealthy vendor.
150- 700 in 15 months is, by anyone's books, a good profit. Who knows what tomorrow will bring but there are enough "what if's" to make me think today might be a very good day to remember the first bit of that advice.
"RM provides the best solution"
I can only agree with that statement but we might have to disagree (short term) on which RM we are talking about.
Of course, with such high volumes, these all can't be serious buyers. Absolutely not. However, many people on the site are a 'serious buyer' or looking to move in the near future and sussing out the market. Definitely more people within these categories using RM than any other source. I am not denying that there are many, many time wasters on there who are just curious (nosey). Times have changed. People have embraced online services as a first choice to start their search for a new home. With this mentatlity, where else better to start? Nearly all of the buyers I come into contact with eat, sleep and breath RM during their property search. In fact, some of these would be happy to base their whole property search with RM. Of course, I politely inform them that this isn't the best attitude, but they find RM the most convenient and hassle-free method to run searches. Reasons that have been brought to my attention are up to date listings, detailed photos, floor plans and no pushy agents, allowing people to digest all information at their own pace! It's a great service to the buyer and the agent. Newspapers are an added touch, but cannot compate to the online services available. My personal opinion is that many would be scared to pull out of the local press, as their competition would remain, similar attitude for people staying with RM! Online is the place to be when searching for property nowadays, RM provides the best solution.
That is a fairly bold claim, Ace of Spades. with 650 million hits/month there certainly are lots of people looking at Rightmove but I would question the claim that more of the serious buyers start off looking on Rightmove than anywhere else. Where is the evidence to back that up?
If it is the case why are agents still giving local newspapers very large sums of money?
AceofSpades - hear hear! Knew we could rely on you for sensible observation. Brian - this is the closest we have ever been to agreeing on something. Don't expect to make a habit of it, though...!
Why is it probably the worst business people in the country- (Estate Agents – who else does so much work without getting paid??)- moan continually about a successful business that makes money because of them? Jealously, envy perhaps. Well done Miles.
Ridiculous chain of comments whenever this topic arises. If RM does not represent value for money - stop using them. Otherwise you have no right to moan if you CHOOSE to stay with them! Lots of people turning stats around but no matter what your stats say, More 'serious buyers' start their house search with RM than anywhere else.
Hi, i ve just instructed my estate agent. I am 50k overpriced, dont clean my house and probably wont sell when i get an offer,,i told my agent if he wasn t on right move i wouldnt use him,,it works miracles,the tv told me.
It s 1924, i ve just closed my estate agents because nobody visits my shop or reads the newspaper..oh I wish the internet had been invented to sell all my houses for me...
best wishes, chim chiminey
I dont blame rightmove, fairplay to them. Its the lame ass agents I have no respect for. They created this powerful snowball by having no balls and joining in first place.
A smart head and a strong hand is more powerful than the biggest Hammer!
Every property has only one purchaser which means the Puchasers are looking at 3250 Rightmove Pages before buying a property? I think not. How can agents market anything if they don't understand effective marketing?
"One has to ask where the NFoPP property portal can possibly go from here. Time to abandon this costly project?"
That would be the wrong thing to do Robert. All of the expensive stuff is done, it is built and ready to move into. It justs needs the Agents to sell it.
Its all very well.. I think you have hit the nail on the head, unfortunately with your hand not a hammer.
Rm provide you with a shop window on the busiest street of its kind. They are wheeling customers right in front of your window. What you put in your window is what makes the difference.
They have a job to do ... getting the traffic (83% says they are doing it) you also have a job to do ... marketing your vendors'property.
I have as many quality leads from Findaproperty as I do from Rightmove so not sure where this 83% has come from...... I am convinced that Rightmove employ staff to up the click through rates on properties! If you divide your number of actual viewings into the click through rates the % is very poor
I think that is an excellent piece of marketing from Rightmove.
A good Junk mail campaign will produce 4% return. Let us assume 200,000 sales per month, crediting every single sale as a Rigtmove introduction.
200,000 /650,000,000 X 100 = 0.03%.
One has to ask where the NFoPP property portal can possibly go from here. Time to abandon this costly project?
wardy - before you get all worried that you and I are finally on the same wavelength or something, the PeeBee you agreed with wasn't me! (wish I'd read it, though...) Don't worry - we can still have our spats on here ;0)
..having 83% of the market based on the number of hits, but surely that is like having an agency right next to the only car park in town. Everyone has to walk past your agency but unless someone actually views a property it is meaningless marketing.
What is the cost per sale of each method of selling property in your area? My guess is that 90% of agents reading this won't have any idea.
Without the ability to discount hits from your competitors, nosey neighbours etc 83% market share of hits is in my opinion a "so what" figure akin to the verified circulation figures of a newspaper. Until the relationship and cost between hits and sales is known the Hit figure is as meaningful as Miles Shipside has over 23% of S's in his name, that is 322% more than Jonathan Davies at Askthehomesearch.com.
9.51 and 5 comments bet theres 30 by midday. Same old faces bleating on about how rightmove screws them for too much money. As an owner agent I dont like paying rightmoves subs but what would you do without them ? Where would your leads come from ? Agents dont get footfall anymore, local adverts are to please the vendors, and most agents sites dont get the hits or exposure RM gets. We created RM by advertising it and still do on every single valuation we go on. If RM wasnt number 1 then another portal would be, typical Britain we dont like success. To be honest I think RM do a reasonable job, they are far from perfect and we should work with them not against them.
I agree with PeeBee's post (before it got removed) oh and Jim, wind your neck in
Look forward to a busy day on this thread, site admin.
You all moan, but you all pay. Can't wait for Xmas, gobble, gobble.
blah, blag, blah.... someone should ask Miles how many of his member agents are happy with him and his portal. Having customers is one thing but having satisfied customers is another.
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